Over the course of
Benny Goodman's career, the stars often lined up right and he found himself working in tandem with someone every bit as talented as he, whether it was
Bunny Berigan,
Fletcher Henderson,
Harry James,
Gene Krupa,
Lionel Hampton or
Teddy Wilson. For a brief period after most of the above had left his employ,
Goodman hooked up with guitarist
Charlie Christian and the jazz world was never the same.
Christian played in the big band and his "Solo Flight" was one of the first big-band staples built around the then new electric guitar, but his best work came with a handful of finely wrought gems as a member of
Goodman's sextet. Sharing solo space with
Goodman and
Hampton,
Christian gave the electric guitar a place in the music on sides like "Flying Home," "Air Mail Special," "Stardust" and "AC-DC Current," where his instrument seems to be bursting with ideas and ceaseless invention. Along with sides by
Eddie Lang and
Django Reinhardt's Hot Club of France, these are the recordings that made jazz guitar history. ~ Cub Koda